So let’s be clear, we stumbled on this by accident! It was our first day back in Palermo, and having left Devon the night before at around midnight we were well and truly hanging by late afternoon. But the sight of a growing gathering of cars outside the The Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele was too much to ignore! Yes, it was the start of the 2019 Targa Florio.

Initially I was only carrying the Leica M9 which limited things a bit, we didn’t have passes so I was working at a distance with a 50mm lens. After a while I decided to walk down to our apartment and grab the Nikon D850. I’d brought the lightest of monopods with me, really not intended for a 3KG payload but it was the only one that I had. At £5 for the Manfrotto 790b pod I reckon I got my money’s worth. The 70-200 ƒ/2.8 was a slightly more appropriate tool but light was failing quickly and there was surprisingly little added lighting.

This was a Ferrari tribute event, there were a few, well I’ve never seen so many in one place. The 250 sat alone but the nearby Lancias very much held their own, as did the Bugatti and that lovely Gullwing. It was a ‘terribly Italian’ event down to the Police rider’s wife standing in the middle of the exit grabbing a shot of hubby!

Did I mention the numerous attempts to drive Ferraris over the side of the ramp? Mama’s the word.